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Live Power Community Farm

Covelo, California

	MESA Notes – Public
	Website :	http://www.livepower.org
	Blog, Online Newsletter, etc. :
	Public Contact Information:	[email protected]

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About the Placement:

Detailed Placement Description

Live Power Community Farm utilizes live power (PV solar electric, draft horse tillage, and on farm generated fertility) to minimize fossil energy use and pollution in food production. The farm has 3 main enterprises: 2-4 acres intensive vegetable production for 100-200 member households, 10 3-day school children class visits annually, and livestock (cows, sheep, feeder pigs, chickens, draft horses) for food and land management. Our commitment is to biodynamics and a whole farm organism which attempts to generate all of its needs-animal feed, fertility, tillage and mechanical power- out of its own organism is special and especially much healthier for the earth and all living beings than modern input/output agriculture. As people are a very important part of the farm organism, we attempt to keep the farm open and in support of people re-entering the garden and through their own direct experience developing the love and skill and strength to care for it. We believe that besides transforming farming practices, we also need to transform economic practices to move towards associative and co-operative relationships where the bottom line is the good of all the players-the whole, rather than primarily for gain for individuals or individual parties as we too often experience in market capitalism. This requires developing concern for others, self discipline, and recognition that everything in the farm is giving to and serving others. Our staff includes 3-4 younger and elder experienced farmers and 2-3 trainees. We will help trainees attend the quarterly Northern California Biodynamic Association meetings at other farms in the region and local farmers guild meetings.

Primary Production :

Vegetables, Grain, Cattle, Sheep, Pork, Poultry, Dairy

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About the Internship

Training Hours:

40-48 hours

Training Expectations :

LPCF is a 50 acre diversified biodynamic farm founded by Stephen & Gloria Decater in 1973 in No. California which utilizes non fossil energy of draft horses, people, and PV electricity to produce vegetables and other food for a CSA community.

On-Site Training, Steward’s primary activities :

1. involvement in all aspects of the vegetable garden-bed preparation, planting and sowing, raising transplants, weeding and cultivation, set up sprinkler lines, harvesting, watering, processing, trellising.
2. Compost making-collecting manure and crop residue materials, building piles, inserting BD preparations, and loading manure spreader to distribute compost.
3. Feeding and caring for livestock-setting electro-net for strip grazing, herding animals, stacking hay, castrating and docking, hoof trimming, cow milking, and hand shearing sheep.
4. General Farm Maintenance- Fencing, repairing fence, clearing blackberries out of fence lines, repairing farm tools, wheelbarrows and hoses, and fruit tree pruning.
5. Participation in school class visits-leading groups of children in farm activities during school class visits
6. General clean up

Climate and Location Description

Farm is in a beautiful rural setting at 1300 feet elevation in a 7 mile diameter mountain valley bordered by the Mendocino National Forest and Eel River. It is 1.5 miles from the small town population 3500 which has an excellent library. It is 30 miles from the main Hwy 101 corridor. And 50 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean. It is not easily accessible to public transportation. The area receives approximately 45 inches of rainfall from October through April or May. And it is a clear, dry, and hot Mediterranean climate in the summer months. January low temperatures are in the 20’s at night and warmer in the day. Frost generally ends in early May and returns in mid October. Summer temperatures range from 100-110 Fahrenheit but cool to 50 or 60 at night with low humidity and light afternoon breezes in the summer.

Compensation :

$250 per month, Dorm Room Space with Shared Community Kitchen, Free, daily food

Accommodations and amenities provided :

Farm has a sleeping loft with 4 separate individual rooms, a separate shared common kitchen and laundry, and a separate shower house and toilet. There is WIFI availability at the farm and at the library in town. Stewards will need their own cell phone either US Cellular or Verizon. Some bicycles are available and possibly some coordinated rides but not access to vehicle.

Preferred start date :

March 1

Preferred length of internship :

March 1 to November 21st

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